The German car giant behind two of Britain’s most famous car-making brands Mini and Rolls-Royce has once more urged the UK to vote against Brexit.

BMW reiterated its commitment to the UK car industry as it revealed two British motoring visions of the future in the form of a self-driving Rolls-Royce and a Mini designed for car-sharing.

Dr Ian Robertson, global sales and marketing director at BMW, said at the launch of the new vehicles: 'Clearly we would prefer the British people to vote to remain within the European Union. If we leave, it won't make life easier. We want the UK to stay.'

The future of motoring? BMW revealed a futuristic Mini designed for car sharing and the efficiently packaged zero-emission drive system helps create a compact body like that of the first Mini back in 1959, it says.

Alongside the Mini, was a self-driving Rolls-Royce, with a virtual on-board guide named Eleanor, special ‘Crystal Water’ paintwork and a crystal Spirit of Ecstasy illuminated from inside

Regardless of the outcome of the neck-and-neck EU membership referendum next week, BMW said it remained committed to British carmaking, but that a leave vote could impact future investment.

Dr Robertson said: 'It's very simple. We have no plan B. We will continue whatever the result and consider our next steps then. There's no immediate issue. The UK is our fourth biggest market.

‘But it could impact on future investment plans. We just don't know. If Britain leaves the EU there will be great uncertainty.

'We employ 8,000 people directly in the UK and support a further 50,000 jobs. We also have a lot of UK employees working abroad in Europe.'

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The potential outcome of BMW’s high tech investment in making cars in Britain was on show in the form of two vehicles encompassing both ends of the market.

A self-driving Rolls-Royce with a virtual on-board Spirit of Ecstasy guide called ‘Eleanor’ and a radical Mini made for sharing, were revealed as part of that vision.

BMW is celebrating its centenary year and said the six-metre-long Roller and autonomous Mini concepts pointed towards ‘the next hundred years’ of the two British brands which it owns.

BMW chiefs took the wraps off their futuristic British vehicles at a special ceremony in London on Thursday morning.

It followed a similar centenary birthday event in BMW’s home-city of Munich in March when bosses unveiled a futuristic BMW sports car and apologised with ‘profound regret’ for their Nazi past in using forced labour to supply Hitler’s Third Reich with armaments and aero engines.

Rolls-Royce has a boutique factory on the Goodwood estate of the Earl of March in Sussex, while Minis are built in an Oxford factory. BMW also has an engine plant at Ham’s Hall near Birmingham.

The silhouette of the concept car is still very much Mini, with compact dimensions and the wheels placed as close to the four corners of the car as possible

The future of Rolls-Royce? BMW unveiled the Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100 concept at an 100-year celebration event in London

The bold vision of motoring in the future may not arrive for 20 to 30 years though, said BMW.

At today’s launch BMW noted: ‘Ever since it was founded in 1916, the BMW Group has played an important role in shaping the future of mobility. It has done so by constantly reinventing itself, evolving from an aircraft engine manufacturer to a motorcycle producer and then a carmaker.

‘So for the Centenary it is natural that the Group is focusing primarily on looking to the future and sharing its vision of personal mobility two or three decades from now.’

That future could consist of this dramatic 5.9 metre-long coupe-like limousine called ‘Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100’, designed to offer its exclusive customers: a ‘grand sanctuary’ and silk-lined oasis away from the cares of the world; an effortless journey culminating in a ‘grand arrival’ at their destination; and a glimpse at the limitless possibilities for personalisation.

The self-driving Rolls-Royce is engineered to ‘waft along fully autonomously’ and has a silhouette that ‘radiates powerful elegance’, says the firm.

‘The driver’s seat, steering wheel and instruments are superfluous in this model. What remains is a completely new sense of space’.

With no driver and no need for a chauffeur, the lucky occupant has instead as his or her guide the virtual computer-generated assistant called Eleanor - named after Eleanor Thornton, the model who inspired sculptor Charles Robert Sykes’ iconic Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament.

But it wasn't just outright luxury on display. BMW also revealed a green Mini designed to be shared around the clock by a variety of users as the ultimate urban communal runaround.

That concept reflects BMW's investment in car sharing platform DriveNow with car hire firm Sixt. This offers cars to hire for short periods from on-street locations around major German cities and has expanded to Copenhagen, Stockholm and London.

The scheme is only available in the UK in London at the moment and people can use an app to find and hire a range of brand new BMWs and Minis and pay by the minute before leaving them in a public parking space.

BMW said the futuristic Mini revealed this week was created in the eyes of young people in future who will be less interested in owning a car, but will still want to drive a small, clever, and nimble ‘urban go-kart’, or be picked up and driven in it autonomously.

‘It may not actually be necessary to own a Mini to be part of the action,' is said.

BMW said the concept car radiates powerful elegance - it certainly keeps plenty of the familiar design cues, like the larger grille and Spirit of Ecstasy

Coach doors are a statement feature of Rolls-Royces. A hatched roof-lid isn't though

At almost six-metres in length, the Rolls-Royce's autonomous driving system better be good at parking

The luxury car firm says a traditional clock on the dashboard helps to keep occupants calm and grounded in an increasingly digital and ‘connected’ world

The British motoring industry is one of the sectors of the economy most likely to be affected by a vote to leave the EU, due to imports, exports and foreign-ownership.

A survey by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said 77 per cent of its members believed remaining in the EU would be best for their business.

Dr Robertson told This is Money that he will be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where BMW is chief sponsor, when the Brexit vote result is expected to be announced on Friday June 24, the day after the poll.

He said: 'Staying in would be an advantage. There are advantages to being within the largest trading market in the world. But we remain committed to the UK. We're looking at a lot of hypothetical 'what ifs'. Reform and evolution over time within the EU is also an important consideration.'

Rolls-Royce Motor cars chief executive Torsten Mueller-Otvos said he stood by his and parent group BMW's earlier warnings of the threat to jobs, investment and rising costs which a British exit from the EU could trigger.

'It's up to the British population to decide. But it's still our preference for the UK to stay in Europe.'

He pointed out that Leading German news magazine Spiegel had run a big article, written in English, urging the UK: 'Please stay'.

In March, Mr Mueller-Otvos sparked controversy when he wrote to British staff warning them that leaving the EU could spark a trade war that would harm exports and cost jobs.

He wrote: ’Tariff barriers would mean higher costs and higher prices and we cannot assume that the UK would be granted free trade with Europe from outside the EU. Our employment base could also be affected.’

But the letters provoked a backlash with Tory MEP David Campbell Bannerman accusing BMW bosses of ‘disgraceful scaremongering.’